Brockton man sues Wal-Mart over alleged discrimination

Former employee claims he was harassed in Abington and Avon stores, but the people who taunted him were not punished.

Jon Chesto

A Brockton man claims that he was harassed and bullied because of anti-foreigner sentiments at Wal-Mart stores in Abington and Avon.

Eventually, Majid Hamade was fired from his job at the Avon store after he tapped one of his alleged tormentors on the forehead with his finger, according to a lawsuit he filed against Wal-Mart Stores.

Hamade, who is of Lebanese and Greek descent, sued the nation’s largest retailer in Plymouth Superior Court in Brockton last month, claiming that he was unfairly disciplined while the people who taunted him were not punished.

His lawsuit, which was transferred earlier this month to Boston federal court at Wal-Mart’s request, also alleges that he was subjected to racial harassment because he was forced to do additional work that other employees were not required to perform.

Sharon Weber, a spokeswoman for the Bentonville, Ark.-based company, declined to comment about the specifics of the case because the company doesn’t typically discuss pending litigation or personnel issues.

“We strive to provide a workplace that is free of discrimination of any type,” Weber said.

Doug Surprenant, a Holbrook lawyer who represents Hamade, said the case was originally handled by the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination. The state agency eventually supported one of Hamade’s claims, Surprenant said, but he figured it would be more advantageous for Hamade to pursue the case in the court system.

“Mr. Hamade was disciplined on several occasions, where the Caucasian employees that would do several actions were never disciplined,” said Surprenant, who said Hamade is a U.S. citizen. “What they’re not allowed to do is discipline one employee differently than you would another employee.”

Hamade, in his lawsuit, claims that the harassment began not long after he started working at the Wal-Mart store in Abington in September 2002. Hamade claims that he was insulted and ridiculed on an almost daily basis by employees who believed he was from the Middle East.

To avoid ridicule, Hamade began eating his meals in his car or in the Wal-Mart garden center, according to the suit. In January 2003, Hamade’s wife first reported the harassment to Wal-Mart’s discrimination hotline, according to the suit.

After an argument with one of his alleged tormentors in September 2003, the company sided with his opponent and forced Hamade to take a week off, according to the suit.

Hamade was later granted his request to transfer to the Avon store in an effort to avoid harassment. But he claims that he was harassed after he arrived at the Avon store in October 2003, and he cited in his suit instances in which a group that called themselves “the originals” taunted him.

At one point, one of the co-workers threw a cup of coffee on him, and at another time, a co-worker threw a paint can and hit Hamade in the shoulder, according the suit.

Surprenant said Hamade’s personality probably made him an easy target.

“He’s a very soft-spoken, gentle man, but he works his butt off,” Surprenant said. “Eventually, his steam would blow up, and he would yell or swear. He would be disciplined for yelling or swearing, whereas the guys who were openly taunting him, nothing.”

During an argument outside of the building in August 2006, Hamade claims he tapped one of the employees in the forehead and asked never to be told to “shut up” again. He claims he was fired for “workplace violence” less than a week later.

Surprenant said he’s going to request that the case be moved back to Superior Court in Brockton.

“My client is already nervous about the whole thing,” Surprenant said. “He would be much more comfortable in Brockton than he would be going downtown to federal (court).”